Electra Electra See More Electra Pictures > Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae in Greek mythology. She was the sister of Iphigenia and Chrysothemis, as well as Orestes , with whom they planned the murder of their mother and her lover Aegisthus , seeking revenge for the murder of their father. When Agamemnon returned from the Trojan War along with his consort Cassandra , he was murdered by his wife and her lover, who was also his cousin. Clytemnestra was furious at her husband for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia to Artemis before his departure to Troy , while another reason may have been the possible murder of her first husband by Agamemnon . So, she killed both Agamemnon and Cassandra upon their arrival, even though Cassandra had warned of this ill fate. Electra and Orestes sought refuge in Athens , and when Orestes was 20 years old, he consulted the Oracle of Delphi ; there, he was told to take revenge for his father's death. Along with his sister, they went back to Mycenae and plotted against their mother and Aegisthus .

With the help of his cousin and best friend, Pylades , Orestes managed to kill his mother and her lover; before her death though, Clytemnestra cursed Orestes and as a result, the Furies or Erinyes chased him, as it was their duty to punish anyone commiting matricide or other similar violent acts. Electra , instead, was not haunted by the Erinyes . Electra Is also called Elektra. Electra - Ancient Greece Electra Orestes, Electra and Hermes at the tomb of Agamemnon, lucanian red-figure pelike, ca. 380 - 370 BC, Louvre Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, the king and queen of Mycenae. When Electra's father returned from the Trojan war, her mother, Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus killed him. They also killed Cassandra, a concubine of Agamemnon from the Trojan war. Electra managed to save her brother Orestes from Aegisthus. She sent him to the King Strophius.

After that, Electra lived with a feeling of taking revenge, dreaming only of vengence on them for killing her father. Delphic oracle ordered Orestes to return home and take revange of his father's death. Electra and Orestes returned to Mycenae, their home. According to Aeschylus, they met each other before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to perform rites to the dead. Orestes with the help of Pylades, the son of King Strophius of Phocis (who had cared for Orestes while he hid from his mother and her lover), killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Electra supported and helped Orestes to take revenge of their father. Pylades and Electra fell in love and married. She was the mother of Medon and Strophius. Many dramas and movies are written on Electra, To name the few: The Oresteia, a trilogy of plays by Aeschylus Electra, drama by Danilo Kis Electra, play by Sophocles Elektra, a play by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, based on the Sophocles play.

Electra, film by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Irene Papas, based on Euripides. Elektra, opera by Richard Strauss Elektra, opera by Mikis Theodorakis. Sources: Meaning of Elektra: In Greek mythology, Elektra is the daughter of King Agamemnon and his queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae Origin and meaning of Elektra 05 The meaning of Elektra is "Amber". Its origin is "Greek". This name is mostly being used as a girls name. Last year it ranked 4,725th in the U.S. Social Security Administration list of most popular baby girl names. Show popularity chart In Greek mythology, Elektra is the daughter of King Agamemnon and his queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. Agamemnon sacrifices Elektra's sister, Iphigenaia, to the goddess Artemis in return for safe passage to the city of Troy. Upon Agamemnon's return to Mycenae after the Trojan War, Clytemnestra murders her husband with the help of her love Aigisthos.

Elektra then plots with her brother Orestres to avenge Agamemnon's death and kill their mother. The story of Elektra is told by Sophocles and Euripides. Both named their tragedies "Electra". Elektra is the subject of multiple operas including "Mourning Becomes Electra", "Idomeneo" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and three that are just titled "Elektra" or "Electra". The Marvel Comics character Elektra Natchios is based loosely on the character from Greek mythology. In the comic, Elektra becomes an assassin after witnessing the murder of her father. Electra - Greek Mythology - Ancinet-Mythology.com Electra | Greek Mythology Electra is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra , the king and queen of Mycenae. She is absent from Homer's epics, but appears in the Oresteia and in later Athenian plays. In Aeschylus' play, the Libation Bearers, she supports her brother Orestes in his killing of their mother, Cltaemnestra as revenge for her killing of Agamemnon.

In Electra by Euripides, she is depicted as more jealous and hateful (as are most of Euripides' female characters) and actually helps Orestes kill their mother. Electra | daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra | Britannica.com daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra Written By: Prometheus Electra, ( Greek: “Bright One”) in Greek legend , the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra , who saved the life of her young brother Orestes by sending him away when their father was murdered. When he later returned, she helped him to slay their mother and their mother’s lover, Aegisthus. Electra then married Orestes’ friend Pylades. The plays of the same name written by Sophocles and Euripides and the Choephoroi by Aeschylus vary the theme in detail. Many later artistic interpretations of her life exist, including Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s play Elektra (1903), later made into an opera by Richard Strauss (1906–08), and Eugene O’Neill’s play Mourning Becomes Electra (1931).

Electra and Orestes killing Aegisthus in the presence of their mother, Clytemnestra; detail of a … The Mansell Collection/Art Resource, New York Learn More in these related articles: Agamemnon (Greek mythology) in Greek legend, king of Mycenae or Argos. He was the son (or grandson) of Atreus, king of Mycenae, and his wife Aërope and was the brother of Menelaus. After Atreus was murdered by his nephew Aegisthus (son of Thyestes), Agamemnon and Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta,... Clytemnestra (Greek mythology) in Greek legend, a daughter of Leda and Tyndareus and wife of Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. She took Aegisthus as her lover while Agamemnon was away at war. Upon his return, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon. Clytemnestra was then killed by her son,...

Orestes (Greek mythology) in Greek mythology, son of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae (or Argos), and his wife, Clytemnestra. According to Homer, Orestes was away when his father returned from Troy to meet his death at the hands of Aegisthus, his wife’s lover. On reaching manhood, Orestes avenged his father by killing... Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra Tips for Editing Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources.

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Her hatred of her mother for murdering her father and the fulfillment of her revenge through Orestes, made her the subject of tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. In Euripides' dramatization, she took part in the slaying of Clytemnestra by Orestes. Electra does not occur in Homer's naming of Agamemnon's daughters, but was identified by later poets with Laodice, who was included in his list. Summary Article: ELECTRA from Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology Image from: Relief depicting the meeting of Orestes and Electra at the tomb of Agamemnon in The Bridgeman Art Library Archive In Greek mythology. Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Clytemnestra. Years after her mother killed her father, Electra and her brother avenged their father's death. The character Electra is not mentioned as one of Agamemnon's daughters by the earliest Greek poet, Homer (c. ninth–eighth century BCE).

Instead, she makes her first dramatic appearance in the fifth century BCE in a play by Aeschylus (525–456 BCE) called Choephoroe (more popularly known as Libation Bearers), the second part of the Oresteia trilogy. From that time on the story of Electra was retold with several variations, but the essential plot never changed. Electra was one of four children born to King Agamemnon of Mycenae and his wife, Clytemnestra. Their other children were a son, Orestes, and two more daughters, Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis. Electra's legend begins with the Trojan War. When Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and sister of Clytemnestra, ran away to Troy with Paris, a Trojan prince, the Greeks decided to wage war on Troy and bring back Helen. Agamemnon, Menelaus's brother, was chosen as the military leader of the Greek forces. Before the Greeks set off for Troy across the sea, a soothsayer told Agamemnon he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis in exchange for a fair wind.

He did so—although in some versions Artemis spared Iphigeneia's life—and the Greek army set sail for Troy. Clytemnestra was devastated by the loss of Iphigeneia and never forgave her husband. While Agamemnon was away fighting in Troy, Clytemnestra and her husband's cousin Aegisthus became lovers, yet Electra always remained loyal to her father and longed for his return. After 10 years of warring between the Greeks and the Trojans, Troy was finally defeated and Agamemnon came home to Mycenae, but he did not return alone. As a kind of victory trophy he had claimed Cassandra, a daughter of King Priam of Troy, as his mistress. Within hours of his arrival at the royal palace, according to some versions, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murdered both Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytemnestra then planned to kill Orestes, but Electra secretly arranged for her young brother to be sent to the Greek kingdom of Phocis, north of the Gulf of Corinth, where he was raised in safety.

Betrayal and revenge For years thereafter, Electra mourned the death of her father and vowed to avenge his murder. When Orestes reached manhood, he heard about how his father had been killed, so he set off with his cousin and friend Pylades for Mycenae. When the two men reached the royal palace, they disguised themselves as travelers to gain entry. They also claimed to be carrying the ashes of the dead Orestes in an urn. Some legends have it that, although Electra was upset at hearing the rumor of Orestes' death, she resolved to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus herself. Before she could act, however, Orestes and Pylades secretly revealed to her their true identities, and together they plotted their crime. First Orestes killed Clytemnestra by stabbing her, and, depending on the account told, Electra either encouraged him or helped him stab their mother a second time. They then showed Aegisthus Clytemnestra's body before executing him too. Another version has it that Orestes and Pylades killed Aegisthus before stabbing Clytemnestra to death.

Orestes rewarded Pylades for his help by giving him Electra to wed. Once married, Electra and Pylades moved to Phocis, where they had two sons, Medon and Strophius. The significance of Electra's story The ancient Greeks valued the ideals of loyalty and justice, and Electra was seen as a hero for her devotion to her father and her obsession with avenging his wrongful murder. Women were meant to be faithful and obedient to men, and Electra showed the loyalty and patience her mother should have exercised. In some ways Electra is typical of the passive role of women in ancient Greece. She felt strongly, but in some versions of the myth she did very little, waiting for her brother to commit the murders instead of doing so herself. The Electra Complex The phrase Electra complex is closely associated with famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), although he did not use the term himself. Essentially the Electra complex is the female equivalent of what Freud called the Oedipus complex.

In Greek mythology Oedipus, without realizing his true parentage, slew his father and married his mother—a metaphor, Freud believed, for a common phase of human emotional development, typically between the ages of three to five, when a child experiences a strong bond with or even sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and an equally strong sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex. According to Freud, in emotionally healthy people, the phase ends once the child identifies with the parent of the same sex. The Electra complex is a way of explaining why some girls are closer to their fathers than their mothers. Echoes of the story In ancient Greece the earliest paintings of Electra, from the the fifth century BCE, were of her presence at the killing of Aegisthus. Later in Greek art she was featured more often with Orestes at the tomb of their father. The most important literary depictions of Electra come in the works of three Greek dramatists, Aeschylus, Sophocles (c. 496–406 BCE), and Euripides (c. 486–406 BCE).

In Aeschylus's version of her story, Electra has little to do with the murders of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus; yet in the versions by Sophocles and Euripides, both of which are titled Electra, she takes a more central and instrumental role. Sophocles' play puts greater emphasis on Electra's emotional torment during the years spent waiting for the return of Orestes and the agony she feels when she hears the false rumor that her brother is dead. Sophocles' Electra also encourages Orestes to stab their mother a second time. A major difference between the Sophocles and Euripides Electras is that in the latter play Electra grips the knife with Orestes and the two stab their mother together. In the 20th century, Electa continued to inspire artists. Most famously, Electa is featured in a reworking of Oresteia by the U.S. dramatist Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953). The play, Mourning Becomes Electra, sets the drama among a New England family immediately following the Civil War.

In 1908 the German composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) wrote an opera based on Sophocles' Electra. Poet Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), whose own father died when she was young, wrote "Electra on Azalea Path" about her feelings for him. See also: AGAMEMNON; ATREUS; CLYTEMNESTRA; FURIES; IPHIGENEIA; ORESTES. Further reading Aeschylus, and A. Shapiro and P. Burian, eds. The Oresteia. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Euripides, and Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, eds. The Complete Euripides, 5 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009–2010. O'Neill, Eugene. Three Plays: Desire under the Elms, Strange Interlude, Mourning Becomes Electra. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Citation Mythology - Ancient Greek Gods and Myths.

Mythology Principal Gods click for main characteristics Mythical Characters Zeus Homer the name traditionally assigned to the reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek antiquity. Nothing is known about Homer as an individual. In fact, the question of whether a single person can be said to be responsible for the creation of the two epics is still controversial. However, linguistic and historical evidence allows the assumption that the poems were composed in the Greek settlements on the west coast of Asia Minor sometime in the 9th century BC. Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, the king and queen of Mycenae. When Electra's father returned from the Trojan war, her mother, Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus killed him. They also killed Cassandra, a concubine of Agamemnon from the Trojan war... more » Antigone In ancient Greece, Antigone is mostly related to the myth that was told by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, although there is reference to a different Antigone in the ancient Greek World. Antigone was the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes and Jocasta.

The story says, Oedipus, the son of Laius and Jocasta killed his father Laius and became the king of Thebes. Oedipus unknowingly married his own mother Jocasta and had children by her. Thus, Antigone was the daughter and the sister of Oedipus... more » JASON's story is an ancient Greek myth, folk tale that is passed from generations to generations. About a hero who traveled on a voyage in search of the Golden Fleece, so that he could help his father get his kingdom back from King Pelias. Jason's father was Aeson, the King of Lolcus and mother Alcimede. Aeson stepbrother Pelias was eager for the throne of Lolcus, so in a battle, he removed Aeson from power and made himself the King. Aeson and Pelias shared a common mother, Tyro. She was the daughter of Salmoneus and sea god Poseidon. Pelias, to make sure that no one from Aeson's family could challenge him, killed his family. But Alcimede saved their baby, Jason.

To save him Alcimede gave away her baby son to Chiron, who became his guardian. But Pelias was obsessed with his throne and he consulted an oracle that told him that a man wearing one sandal would be the reason for his end... more » Chaos - in one ancient Greek myth of creation, the dark, silent abyss from which all things came into existence. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Chaos generated the solid mass of Earth, from which arose the starry, cloud-filled Heaven. Mother Earth and Father Heaven, personified respectively as Gaea and her offspring Uranus, were the parents of the Titans. In a later theory, Chaos is the formless matter from which the cosmos, or harmonious order, was created. Gaea - She was the mother and wife of Father Heaven, Uranus. They were the parents of the first creatures, the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Giants - the Hecatoncheires (Hundred - Headed Ones). Uranus hated the monsters, and, even though they were his children, locked them in a secret place in the earth. Gaea was enraged at this favoritism and persuaded their son Cronos to overthrow his father.

He emasculated Uranus, and from his blood Gaea brought forth the Giants, and the three avenging goddesses the Erinyes. Her last and most terrifying offspring was Typhon, a 100-headed monster, who, although conquered by the god Zeus, was believed to spew forth the molten lava flows of Mount Etna. Tartarus - The lowest region of the underworld. Hesiod claimed that a brazen anvil would take none days and nights to fall from heaven to earth, and nine days and nights to fall from earth to Tartarus. Tartarus rose out of Chaos and was the destination of wicked souls. Uranus banished his children the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires to Tartarus, as Zeus also did to the Titans. Other famous inhabitants of Tartarus include Sisyphus, Ixion, Tantalus, Salmoneus, Tityus, Ophion, and the daughters of Danaus. Eros - The god of love. He was thought of as a handsome and intense young man, attended by Pothos ("longing") or Himeros ("desire").

Later mythology made him the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love. Erebus - Personification of the darkness of the Underworld and the offspring of Chaos. . In later myth, Erebus was the dark region beneath the earth through which the shades must pass to the realm of Hades below. He is often used metaphorically for Hades itself. Uranus - Gaea - The personification of the sky; the god of the heavens and husband of Gaea, the goddess of the earth. . Their children are the Hecatonchires, the Cyclopes and the Titans. Pontus - The sea god. Cyclopes - Three sons: Arges, Brontes, and Steropes of Uranus and Gaea. The Cyclops were giant beings with a single, round eye in the middle of their foreheads.They helped Zeus defeat their brother, Cronus, by forging lightning bolts. They also made Poseidon's trident and Hades invisibility cap. Hecatonchires - Three sons of Uranus and Gaia. There were three of them: Briareus also called Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges also called Gyes.

They were gigantic and had fifty heads and one hundred arms each of great strength. They had 100 hands and helped Zeus in his war against the Titans. Cronus - Rhea - Cronus was a ruler of the universe during the Golden Age. He was one of the 12 Titans and the youngest son of Uranus and Gaea, Cronus and his sister-queen, Rhea, became the parents of 6 of the 12 gods and goddesses known as the Olympians. Cronus had been warned that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. To prevent this, he swallowed his first five children as soon as they were born. Rhea did not like this. She substituted a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for their sixth child, Zeus. He was hidden in Crete, and when he was older, he returned and forced Cronos to disgorge all the other children, who had grown inside of him. Zeus and his siblings fought a war against Cronos and the Titans. Zeus won, and the Titans were confined in Tartarus, a cave in the deepest part of the underworld.

Coeus - Phoebe - Coeus was a titan of Intelligence, the father of Leto, husband of Phoebe. Oceanus - Tethys - The personification of the vast ocean. Together with his wife Tethys, they produced the rivers and six thousand offsprings called the Oceanids. He ruled over Ocean, a great river encircling the earth, which was believed to be a flat circle. The nymphs of this great river, the Oceanids, were their daughters, and the gods of all the streams on earth were their sons. Hestia - Virgin goddess of the hearth. She was the symbol of the house, around which a new born child was carried before it was received into the family. Although she appears in very few myths, most cities had a common hearth where her sacred fire burned. I Hades - He was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling increase the number of dead were seen favorably by him. He was also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. His wife was Persephone whom Hades abducted.

The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above, and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters. Poseidon - God of the sea. His weapon was a trident, which could shake the earth, and shatter any object. He was second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. Under the ocean, he had a marvelous golden palace. Poseidon was the husband of Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, by whom he had a son, Triton. Poseidon had numerous other love affairs. At one point he desired Demeter. To put him off Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen. To impress her Poseidon created the first horse. In some accounts his first attempts were unsucessful and created a varity of other animals in his quest.

By the time the horse was created his passion for Demeter had cooled. Zeus - Hera - The god of the sky and ruler of the gods of Mount Olympus. He displaced his father and assumed the leadership of the gods of Olympus. Zeus was considered the father of the gods and of mortals. He did not create either gods or mortals; he was their father in the sense of being the protector and ruler both of the Olympian family and of the human race. His weapon was a thunderbolt. His breastplate was the aegis, his bird the eagle, his tree the oak. He was married to Hera but, is famous for his many affairs, which resulted in many known children and probably many more that were not known to be his. Athena was his favorite child. He bore her alone from his head. One of the greatest feasts for Zeus was the Olympic games. They were taking place every four years in Olympia. Even if there was a war between the city-states of Greece they were stopping the war to take part on that games. Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife. Writers represented Hera as constantly being jealous of Zeus's various amorous affairs.

She punished her rivals and their children, among both goddesses and mortals, with implacable fury. The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow (she was also known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which was later translated as "with big eyes") were her sacred animals. Her favorite city was Argos. Demeter - Zeus - Goddess of corn and the harvest. She taught mankind the art of sowing and ploughing so they could end their nomadic existence. She was of a severe, a beauty scarcely relieved by her hair. which was as fair as ripened grain. Poseidon coveted her, but Demeter refused herself to him. To escape him she fled to Arkadia where, assuming the shape of a mare, she mingled with the herds of King Oncus. Poseidon, however, succeeded in finding her, changed himself into a stallion and made her the mother of the horse Arion. When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, Demeter's grief was so great that she neglected the land; no plants grew, and famine devastated the earth.

Dismayed at this situation, Zeus, demanded that his brother Hades return Persephone to her mother. Hades agreed, but before he released the girl, he made her eat some pomegranate seeds that would force her to return to him for four months each year. In her joy at being reunited with her daughter, Demeter caused the earth to bring forth bright spring flowers and abundant fruit and grain for the harvest. However, her sorrow returned each autumn when Persephone had to return to the underworld. The desolation of the winter season and the death of vegetation were regarded as the yearly manifestation of Demeter's grief when her daughter was taken from her. Demeter and Persephone were worshipped in the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Persephone - Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of Demeter. Persephone is the goddess of the underworld in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Persephone was such a beautiful girl that everyone loved her, even Hades wanted her for himself. Although Zeus gave his consent, Demeter was unwilling.

Hades, therefore, seized the maiden as she was gathering flowers and carried her off to his realm. Persephone was a personification of the revival of nature in spring. Her attributes in iconography can include a torch, a crown, a sceptre, and stalks of grain. Leto - Zeus - The mother of Artemis, goddess of the bow and of hunting. She was loved by the god Zeus, who, fearing the jealousy of his wife, Hera, banished Leto when she was about to bear his child. All countries and islands were also afraid of Hera's wrath and refused the desperate Leto a home where her child could be born. Finally, in her wanderings, she set foot on a small island floating in the Aegean Sea, which was called Delos. Iapetus - The son Uranus and Gaea. Iapetus' wife was Clymene. Athena - or Pallas-Athene, is one of the most important goddesses in Greek mythology. Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. Athena sprang full-grown and armoured from the forehead of the god Zeus and was his favourite child.

She was fierce and brave in battle but, only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies. She was the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. Her attributes in iconography include the aegis (a fringed cloak, sometimes decorated with a Gorgon's head), the helmet, and the spear. Ares - God of war. He was very aggressive. He was unpopular with both gods and humans. Ares was not invincible, even against mortals. He personified the brutal nature of war. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Ares was mainly worshipped in Thracia. Hebe - The goddess of youth. She, along with Ganymede were the cupbearers to the gods, serving them their nectar and ambrosia. She also prepared Ares' bath, and helped Hera to her chariot. Hebe was Hercules' wife. Hephaestus - God of fire and metalwork.

He was born lame and weak, and shortly after his birth, he was cast out of Olympus. In most legends, however, he was soon honoured again on Olympus and was married to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or to Aglaia, one of the three Graces. His workshop was believed to lie under Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily. He made many wonderful artifacts for the gods, including the twelve golden thrones of the Olympians, their weapons and treasures. Apollo - Apollo was primarily a god of prophecy. He sometimes gave the gift of prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan princess Cassandra. As a prophet and magician, he is the patron of medicine and healing. He was a gifted musician, who delighted the gods with his performance on the lyre. He was also a master archer and a fleet-footed athlete, credited with having been the first victor in the Olympic games. His twin sister was Artemis. He was famous for his oracle at Delphi. People traveled to it from all over the Greek world to divine the future. He was also the god of agriculture and cattle, and of light and truth.

Artemis - Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and animals, as well as of childbirth. Her twin brother was Apollo. As the moon goddess, she was sometimes identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate.Her attributes are the bow and arrow, while dogs, deer and goose are her sacred animals. Her most elaborate temple was in Ephesis. Atlas - Son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. Atlas fought with the Titans in the war against the deities of Mount Olympus. Atlas stormed the heavens and Zeus punished him for this deed by condemning him to forever bear the earth and the heavens upon his shoulders. He was the father of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded the tree of golden apples, and Heracles (Hercules). Prometheus - Prometheus was the wisest Titan, known as the friend and benefactor of humanity.He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and the gods. He also tricked the gods so that they should get the worst parts of any animal sacrificed to them, and human beings the best. Zeus commanded that Prometheus be chained for eternity in the Caucasus.

There, an eagle would eat at his liver and each day, the liver would be renewed. So the punishment was endless, until Heracles finally killed the bird. Epimetheus - Epimetheus was a Titan, whose name meant "afterthought". In some accounts, he was delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He foolishly ignored his brother Prometheus' warnings to beware of any gifts from Zeus. He accepted Pandora as his wife, thereby bringing ills and sorrows to the world. Maia - Zeus - Maia was a daughter of Atlas. She was one of Zeus' lovers. She, along with Zeus was the mother of Hermes. Dione - Zeus - The goddess or Titaness Dione became by Zeus the mother of Aphrodite. Hermes - Hermes' main role was as a messenger. As the special servant and courier of Zeus, Hermes had winged sandals and a winged hat and bore a golden caduceus, or magic wand, entwined with snakes and surmounted by wings. He conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed to possess magical powers over sleep and dreams. Five minutes after he was born, he stole a herd of cows from Apollo.

He invented the lyre from a cow's internal fibers. After Apollo learned what happened, he knew that his half-brother should he one of the pantheon. Hermes was the patron of trickster and thieves because of his actions early in life. His attributes in iconography include the kerykeion (messenger's staff), winged boots, and petassos (cap). Aphrodite - The goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps Adonis. Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her Trojan lover Anchises). Perhaps the most famous legend about Aphrodite concerns the cause of the Trojan War. She was the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle was her tree. The dove, the swan, and the sparrow were her birds. Zeus - Before the pantheon of Greek gods we are familiar with ruled atop Olympus, an earlier generation of deities, known as Titans, held power. The ruler of these divine beings was Cronus, son of Gaia (Mother Earth).

Cronus' mother had informed him that he would be usurped by one of his offspring who would be tremendously powerful. Therefore, whenever Cronus' wife Rhea bore a child he would swallow the newborn god to prevent them from overturning his power... more » Electra | Myths of the World Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Myths of the World Wiki Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. Template:Commons category In Greek mythology , Electra ( Template:Lang-el , Ēlektra) was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra . She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon. Electra is the main character in the Greek tragedies Electra by Sophocles and Electra by Euripides and has inspired various other works. The psychological concept of the Electra complex is also named after her.

Contents Edit Electra's parents were King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Her sisters were Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis , and her brother Orestes . In the Iliad , Homer is understood to be referring to Electra in mentioning "Laodice" as a daughter of Agamemnon. [1] The daughter of Agamemnon should not be confused with her namesake the sea-nymph Electra , the mother of the lesser goddess Iris by the Sea-Titan Thaumas . The Murder of Agamemnon Edit Electra was absent from Mycenae when her father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War to be murdered by Aegisthus , Clytemnestra's lover, and/or by Clytemnestra herself. Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband Agamemnon for murdering their eldest daughter Iphigenia as sacrifice to Artemis or Athena (disputed). Aegisthus and Clytemnestra also killed Cassandra , Agamemnon's war prize, a prophet priestess of Troy. Eight years later Electra was brought from Athens with her brother, Orestes . ( Odyssey , iii.

306; X. 542). According to Pindar (Pythia, xi. 25), Orestes was saved by his old nurse or by Electra, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus , where King Strophius took charge of him. In his twentieth year, Orestes was ordered by the Delphic oracle to return home and avenge his father's death. Edit According to Aeschylus , Orestes saw Electra's face before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to perform rites to the dead; a recognition took place, and they arranged how Orestes should accomplish his revenge. Pylades and Orestes killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (in some accounts with Electra helping). Before her death, Clytemnestra curses Orestes and the Furies come to torment him. He was pursued by the Erinyes , or Furies, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety. Electra, however, was not hounded by the Erinyes. Orestes took refuge in the temple at Delphi .

When he went to the temple it is said a priestess found him first, covered in blood and with the furies flying all around him (Orestes). Afterward, they washed him with pig blood to purify him. Once purified he traveled to Athens to seek Athena. At last Athena (also known as Areia) received him on the Acropolis of Athens and arranged a formal trial of the case before twelve Attic judges. The Erinyes demanded their victim; he pleaded the orders of Apollo; the votes of the judges were equally divided, and Athena gave her casting vote for acquittal. In Iphigeneia in Tauris , Euripides tells the tale somewhat differently. He claims that Orestes was led by the Furies to Tauris on the Black Sea, where his sister Iphigeneia was being held. The two met when Orestes and Pylades were brought to Iphigeneia to be prepared for sacrifice to Artemis . Iphigeneia, Orestes, and Pylades escaped from Tauris. The Furies, appeased by the reunion of the family, abated their persecution.

Marriage Edit Later, Electra fell in love with Pylades, the son of King Strophius , and they were married. Pylades had cared for Orestes while he hid from his mother and her lover, and had helped Orestes and Electra kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Template:Citation needed According to Euripides, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus had previously given Electra in marriage to a peasant, believing that her children would be less likely to take revenge if they were not of noble birth, but the peasant respected her and declined to consummate the marriage.

Question: In Greek mythology, Elektra was the daughter of which king?
Answer: Agamemnon